The Megamerinidae are a primarily tropical family of acalypterate flies consisting of about a dozen species in four genera (three extant; one fossil). Extant forms of the family are primarily tropical with an extension into the Palearctic Region. Very little is known of the biologies of these flies, but larvae have been recorded from under bark or decaying vegetation. Adults are found in moist or sylvan habitats.

The only fossil record is from the Eocene/Oligocene Baltic amber.

PALAEOTANYPEZA Meunier, 1917a: 101. Type species: Palaeotanypeza spinosa Meunier, 1917, by monotypy.
spinosa Meunier, 1917a: 101. PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [A].